In comments on Monday, Shamkhani said the Iranian intelligence forces have recently detected a “complicated cyber network”, noting that the data revealed after detection of the network helped some countries carry out widespread preventive measures.
The Americans have cited the incident as a “scandalous cyber defeat”, he added, saying more details of the operation could be publicized in future.
The senior security official also described Iran as the guarantor of security in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, and decried the American forces as the root cause of instability in the region.
“We have repeatedly stressed that we are the guarantor of protection of security in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, and have emphasized on our principled stance about the need for ending the presence of American military forces in various areas, which has caused crisis and insecurity,” he added.
“Known as the main element behind insecurity, the US has no right to comment on the security of regional people and countries. Americans have never sought to create security and stability in the region,” Shamkhani stated.
In comments in April, Foreign Minister of Iran Mohammad Javad Zarif warned the US against any measure to prevent Tehran from using the Strait of Hormuz as a safe passage for the transit of its oil.
“The Persian Gulf is our lifeline … so stability of [the] Persian Gulf, freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf, [and] free flow of oil in the Persian Gulf [are] in our vital national security interest,” Zarif had noted.
